Platinum Group Metals Explained

Introduction

The platinum group metals, or PGMs, are six closely related elements: platinum, palladium, rhodium, ruthenium, iridium and osmium. The USGS reports them as a group, and they commonly occur together in the same deposits. Their main industrial value is as catalysts: they speed up chemical reactions, such as cleaning vehicle exhaust, without being used up.

For investors, PGMs are unusual. Demand leans heavily on one application, and supply is concentrated in very few countries and often comes as a by-product of other mining.

Most PGM supply is decided by a handful of countries and, in Canada, by nickel mines.

The Six Metals

• Platinum and palladium are the two the USGS reports leading producing countries for, and the metals most PGM discussion centres on.
• Rhodium is used in catalytic converters on gasoline vehicles to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions, according to Natural Resources Canada (NRCan).
• Ruthenium, iridium and osmium are used in smaller quantities in specialist applications.

A deposit rarely holds just one. Companies often report several PGMs together, sometimes with gold, which is why combined grades appear in drill results.

What PGMs Are Used For

According to the USGS 2026 summary, the leading use of PGMs is in autocatalysts, which reduce harmful emissions from vehicle exhaust. NRCan likewise identifies automotive use as the largest share of demand.

Other uses listed by the USGS include:

• catalysts for bulk chemical production and petroleum refining;
• electronics, including hard disks and multilayer ceramic capacitors;
• dental and medical devices;
• glass manufacturing and laboratory equipment;
• jewellery and investment.

NRCan points to hydrogen production and fuel cells as emerging uses for iridium and ruthenium.

Substitution Within the Group

PGMs can sometimes stand in for one another. The USGS notes that palladium has replaced platinum in most gasoline catalytic converters because it has historically been cheaper, and that part of the platinum in diesel converters can be replaced with palladium. In some industrial uses one PGM can replace another, though often with some loss of efficiency.

This matters because demand for one PGM is partly a function of the relative prices of the others. A shift in the cheaper metal can move demand across the group over time.

Where Supply Comes From

PGM supply is among the most concentrated of any metal group. According to the USGS 2026 summary:

• South Africa is the leading producer of mined platinum.
• Russia is the leading producer of mined palladium.
• South Africa holds the largest reserves, followed by Russia, both far ahead of other countries listed, including Zimbabwe, the United States and Canada.

Recycling is a second source. The USGS reports that PGMs are recovered from scrap, with spent automobile catalytic converters a major source in the United States.

Recycled supply behaves differently from mined supply. Catalytic converters return as scrap when vehicles reach the end of their lives, often many years after they were built, so the amount available for recycling depends on how many vehicles were made and scrapped, not on today's PGM prices alone. That makes recycling a steady but slow-moving source.

Concentration has practical effects. Power supply problems, deep-level mining costs or geopolitical events in one or two countries can affect global supply. The USGS 2026 summary itself cites lower prices, costlier deep-level mining and power supply problems as reasons for lower South African output in 2025.

Canada's Place: PGMs as Co-Products

Canada is a meaningful producer, but its PGMs mostly come from mines run for other metals. NRCan states that PGMs are recovered as co-products at numerous primary nickel mines across the country. Most Canadian production is in Ontario, with the rest from Quebec, Manitoba, and Newfoundland and Labrador. NRCan also lists one dedicated PGM mine in western Ontario and several advanced PGM exploration projects in northern Ontario.

The co-product link is important. When PGMs come out of a nickel mine, the decision to mine more or less is usually driven by nickel economics. PGM output from those mines can therefore rise or fall for reasons that have little to do with PGM demand.

The Government of Canada includes platinum group metals on its critical minerals list.

Six Metals, Six Markets

It is tempting to think of PGMs as a single commodity. They are not. Each metal has its own mix of uses, its own main producing countries and its own substitutes. Platinum and palladium compete in catalytic converters. Rhodium has a narrow but important role in gasoline catalysts. Iridium and ruthenium depend more on specialist industrial uses.

Because the metals come out of the ground together in proportions set by geology, a mine cannot choose to produce more of the metal in demand and less of the others. A deposit rich in palladium will produce mostly palladium whatever the relative prices. That is why the split between the metals in a deposit matters as much as the total grade.

Precious metals, including PGMs, are usually quoted per troy ounce, while drill results report grams per tonne. The unit converter handles the conversion.

Reading a PGM Junior

PGM explorers often report grades as a sum, for example platinum plus palladium plus gold, in grams per tonne. That is useful shorthand, but the metals in that sum have different prices and uses. A few points to check:

• Which metals are in the combined grade, and the split between them.
• Any metal equivalent, and the prices and recoveries used to calculate it. See the grade converter for the arithmetic.
• What else is in the deposit. Many PGM deposits also carry nickel and copper, which may drive the economics.
• Metallurgy. PGMs are often recovered into a concentrate and sold to a smelter, so payable terms and penalties matter.
• The technical report. Resource estimates and studies must follow NI 43-101 and are filed on SEDAR+.

What to Watch

• Autocatalyst demand, the largest use, and the substitution between platinum and palladium.
• Supply news from the two leading producing countries, which carry most of the world's reserves.
• Nickel market conditions, since much co-product supply depends on nickel mining.
• Recycling, a source of supply that follows the vehicle fleet.

This article is general information drawn from the dated sources listed. It is not advice. Check company filings, and speak to your own adviser before making decisions.